Reviews of trips to Kigali

"We had a great trip. Everything went smoothly. The driver/guide, Sam, from Primate Safaris was excellent. He was a really nice person with a good sense of humour and was able to tell us lots about Rwanda and answer any questions we had. He was a big help in buying books in Kigali for donating to two schools in Musanze. A visit to the Deaf School and to the pre-school at the Faith Foundation were highlights of our visit in that area (as well as the gorillas of course) He was also able to work with the Park Rangers to have us assigned to a gorilla family that didn't require too much trekking, due to my husband's bad knee.

I would like to suggest that Expert Africa promote the School for the Deaf and also the pre-school run by the Faith Foundation, both in Musanze, if any guests want to take school supplies, children's clothing or sports & games equipment for the local village. A visit to one or both of these places is very rewarding.

Pack for a Purpose is a website that also provides information on what type of things to bring. I find it much more useful than Stuff your Rucksack." Read full review: 29 nights in Africa; 15 on a Rwanda safari

"It was excellent, brilliantly organised and managed.

In retrospect we should have chosen Sabyinyo in Rwanda, Ngorongoro Crater in the Crater. I would have preferred to stay at the Hyatt in Dar - or an alternative to the Serena - it was a shocker.

I had concerns about Little Kwara before I went and these were confirmed. I would not stay with a Kwando facility on a return to Africa." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 7 on a Tanzania safari

"We had a complicated itinerary lasting just over a month and taking in everything from mountain gorillas in Rwanda to desert rhinos in Namibia.

Expert Africa lived up to their name and advised on the best itinerary, booked everything including most of the more important treks and tours, the guide in Rwanda and the self-drive 4x4 in Namibia and of course flights. We started with a thick book of vouchers with a lot of scope for things not to work. In the event every single booking worked perfectly, the itinerary was reasonably easy to keep to and we had an absolutely wonderful and memorable trip staying without exception at interesting and comfortable hotels and lodges.

Thanks again Tracy for organising it for us!.

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Just keep up the good work! We will be back!

It would be good to have more transparency on the costs of the trip - i.e. a breakdown of how the trip was costed so we knew the relative costs of different hotels and lodges. When reporting on the different places we stayed we were uncertain as to how their costs compared and clearly it is not reasonable to expect as much from low cost places as from the most expensive ones.

Lastly a small criticism of this feedback form is that there is no obvious way to navigate back to the beginning other than to click """"back to previous page"""" over and over again. The tabs on the left side bar don't seem to do anything. When two people are filling this in, as in our case, we needed to go backwards and forewords a few times. Otherwise it is a nice form to fill in." Read full review: 32 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip

"Words cannot express how wonderful we found our six day trip to Rwanda to see the Mountain Gorillas. It was the experience of a lifetime. Rwanda is an amazing country. It is stunningly beautiful and the people are so genuinely welcoming and friendly. There are no language problems as English is now their second language. The climate (in January) is very pleasant indeed.

To spend time with the Golden Monkeys and Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat was both humbling and a privilege.
The visit to the Cultural Village was most impressive. It was a joy to share in their cultural activities

Before we went our visit was superbly organised and tailor made for us by Expert Africa. In Rwanda, Primate Safaris were brilliant. So organised and helpful.

We came away from Rwanda wanting to go back. If you can, go there and have a lifetime experience knowing that your money is not only helping the conservation of the animals but is supporting the Rwandan people.

Thank you Expert Africa we will definitely use you again!" Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 5 on a Rwanda safari

"From the planning stage to the real journey, everything went well. It was a real pleasure to plan the trip with Eleanor, she is professional in all aspects from giving advice to handling the bookings.

Gorilla trekking permit was expensive and originally, we thought of doing it for one day. Eleanor recommended us to do 2 treks and it was a very good advice as both experience were different. The local operators, camps and hôtels that was recommended are of very high standard.

We could not wish for more." Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 5 on a Tanzania safari

"Thank you to Expert Africa for helping arrange an adventure and trip of a lifetime.

While we planned our trip a bit last minute, Richard Trillo made it happen and ensured that we had a completely customized and flawlessly organized adventure. He listened to our goals, took our input and modified the itinerary a few times to make sure it ended up being a perfect experience. And perfect it was.

This trip was a gift to my wife for a big birthday. Nothing could express our shared sentiment better than her referring to it as "the best trip I have ever had."" Read full review: 10 nights in Africa; 5 on a Rwanda safari

"As a "once in a lifetime", the gorilla treks were incredible even if they were hard work. One of the things I really liked about Rwanda was driving in the countryside, seeing how Rwandans live. Normally on a safari, you fly into your destination airport and then "hop" to your National Park so don't get the opportunity to see the real country. That difference made this trip really interesting.

The Serengeti was a real pleasant surprise. Beautiful countryside and plenty of great game. After the lack of elephants in the Serengeti, it was a pleasure to see so many in Tarangire, but due to the repetitive nature of the game drives and tsetse flies, I can't imaging wanting to return.

All in all a memorable trip." Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 6 on a Tanzania safari

"We were looking for an economic hiking holiday to see primates. We were disappointed that we could not go hiking through farmland without a guide after our primate hike was short. We were disappointed that 2 of our 5 primate visits were very short hikes although we are aware that it depends on where the animals are in the forests. We loved the friendly contacts with the locals when we did escape our guide. Rwandan tourism is very tightly managed with little freedom for the traveler. It obviously works as it is very expensive and the country looks affluent.

We asked for a long hike for our second gorilla trek and were persuaded we should have a medium one. It turned out to be short and slow due to one visitor being disabled. We sympathized with the family but it did not meet our objective which was to incorporate hiking with an experience. We were very impressed at how readily the Rwandans make it possible to carry people up in a litter and enable them to enjoy the gorilla experience. A lesson to me on humanity and how selfish I and the Western world can be.

It was not clear beforehand that we would be expected to tip absolutely everyone and the numbers involved. For one Gorilla trek - dancers, 2x guides, 3x trackers, 4x guards plus porters if engaged. We had to try to change dollars into small denominations and avoid any drinks not included in the price due to this tipping as we did not have the money. They say it is voluntary BUT it is made VERY clear that everyone expects a tip as '' otherwise they will go back to poaching''. After the huge cost of the holiday and permits we did not expect this. Whilst Rwanda is lovely and we have no regrets we cannot recommend it to friends. it cost me a years salary after tax for the two of us! We are not in the targeted wealth bracket but it was fun to experience that sort of life for a short period. Primate safaris were excellent.

There must be a cheaper option for hikers and backpackers.
Visiting the north east of the country would have been better instead of Serena Kivu
I loved the Nile Congo route and am glad to have done it before the new road.
Expected to ask and tip people if one takes a photo of them.

Thanks for a memorable and great very special holiday. No complaints - just feedback as requested." Read full review: 9 nights in Africa; 8 on a Rwanda safari

"The golden monkeys were gorgeous as a warm up to the gorillas.

What can you say about the gorillas? They are simply wonderful! The first day trekking to the Umubano group was hard going in the persistent rain but the end result was worth every breathe! The sun cleared for the second day and the experience of gorillas playing in the sun, "drunk" on fresh bamboo shoots will be a lifelong memory!

The guides were experienced and friendly and the community benefit was excellent. The porters did a great job - not just carrying rucksacks but also carrying us at times! How they manage it in ordinary wellies, heaven knows!" Read full review: 6 nights in Africa; 1 on a Rwanda safari

"Overall experience was excellent with the exception of the Zanzibar Coffee House and the Fishermen tour organization.

The tour mostlly functioned as a taxi-they were on time and pleasant but not helpful." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 4 on a Rwanda safari